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4
January 31, 2013
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News
Eamon Hamilton
THE worst tropical cyclone to hit the
South Pacific in 21 years led Air Force
to deliver vital AusAID supplies to
Samoa and Fiji.
Cyclone Evan struck Samoa on
December 13 with winds of up to
210km/h, before hitting Fiji with simi-
lar force.
Thousands of people in both
countries were forced into temporary
accommodation or shelters.
A 36SQN C-17A departed RAAF
Base Amberley for Fiji's Nadi
International Airport on December 19,
transporting tarpaulins, shelters, water
containers, blankets and hygiene kits.
The aircraft also carried air move-
ments personnel from 1 Airfield
Operations Support Squadron and their
equipment, along with AusAID staff.
Further C-17A flights from Amberley
to Nadi were made on December 19
and 20.
THE second round of changes to the
Employer Support Payment Scheme
(ESPS) began on January 1.
The changes strengthen the
governance and management of
the scheme by ensuring all claims
are considered and decided by the
services to ensure that capability
requirements are supported.
The new determination stream-
lines and simplifies a previously
complex set of arrangements to sup-
port principled-based decision-mak-
ing vested in the services.
Importantly, the determination
will now contain a sunset clause.
The sunset clause means that
Defence will undertake a review of
the scheme in 2013 to enable advice
to be provided to Government in
early 2014 on the effectiveness of
the scheme in delivering a value-
for-money, required and meaningful
capability to the ADF.
Defence Parliamentary Secretary
Senator David Feeney said the
Service Chiefs were now able to
fully control both policy and admin-
istration of the scheme, which has
operated for 10 years.
This will ensure that payments
are aligned with capability, and the
services can record exactly where
reservists, who were the subject of
Employer Support Payments, work
and how this contributes to Defence
capability.
"The unique capability require-
ments of each service can now be
supported in a manner which is the
best value for money to the services,
the ADF and the Australian people,"
Senator Feeney said.
CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Brown
welcomed the amendment to the
determination which will allow
the scheme to be managed by the
Directorate of Personnel -- Air Force.
"This will ensure that Air Force
can maintain its commitment to
making ESPS payments where they
provide a value-for-money capabil-
ity," AIRMSHL Brown said.
CAF also noted that the review
of the ESPS will enable Air Force
to provide recommendations to gov-
ernment.
Senator Feeney said that hav-
ing the career management/person-
nel management areas administer
the scheme ensured payments were
aligned to capability and had appro-
priate and adequate performance
assessments.
"This is an effective and efficient
means of managing the performance
of the scheme," Senator Feeney
said.The Directive on ESPS issued by
CAF on November 21, 2012, is still
effective and claims will continue to
be made through the existing pro-
cess.
Once the transition arrangements are
finalised, more information will be avail-
able on the Air Force Intranet or via the
Defence Reserves Support website at
http://www.defencereservessupport.
gov.au/
Support payment changes
A C-130J departed Amberley on
December 20 for Samoa to deliver tar-
paulins, blankets and water containers,
along with purification tablets.
FLTLT Cam Grealy, a co-pilot with
the C-130J, said the Hercules flew on
to Fiji so that it could distribute aid
from Nadi to Labasa Airfield on the
Fijian island of Vanua Levu.
"Labasa has a small airstrip of
about 3500 feet, with a weak tarmac,
so we needed approval to fly in there
at minimum weight and deliver a
Mobile Airfield Engineering Team,"
FLTLT Grealy said.
The team needed to assess whether
Labasa could support the weight of
repeated C-130J flights delivering the
aid.
"The next day we flew three taps
into Labasa, with minimum fuel to
enhance our performance on the small
airstrip, taking in water, blankets, shel-
ters and other aid," FLTLT Grealy said.
For the return trip to Australia on
Help after
cyclone
Fifth tanker arrives
AIR Force's fifth and final KC-30A
tanker was delivered to RAAF
Base Amberley on December 5.
Designated A39-005, the aircraft
joins three earlier aircraft which
have been delivered to 33SQN at
Amberley since mid-2011. The
first KC-30A (A39-001) currently
remains in Europe to continue
testing and development of the
aircraft's refuelling systems under
Project Air 5402.
King Air simulator
CAE Australia (CAE) will provide
Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350
simulator training services at
RAAF Base East Sale. The con-
tract, worth $14.2 million, will
provide more than 1500 simulator
hours each year through to the
planned withdrawal of the King
Air 350 in mid-2018. CAE will
also build the facility to host the
simulator and training, which is
currently undertaken in the US.
End to Op Tower
THE ADF's contribution to the
United Nations Mission in Timor-
Leste (UNMIT), Operation Tower,
ended on December 31. The ADF
has contributed to UNMIT and
all of the preceding UN missions
dating back to 1999, with more
than 5000 ADF members hav-
ing served with UN missions in
Timor-Leste.
Gift to memorial
THE Australian Peacekeeping
Memorial Project has been grant-
ed Deductible Gift Recipient sta-
tus by the Australian Tax Office,
which means donations towards
the construction of the memorial
will be tax deductible. Once built
the memorial will occupy its place
on Anzac Parade in Canberra
alongside other national memori-
als. For more information on the
project, visit www.peacekeeping-
memorial.org.au
IN BRIEF
December 23, the Hercules brought
home air movements personnel and
support equipment.
The recent Block 6.1 upgrade
across the 37SQN C-130J fleet includ-
ed a number of changes to how the
Hercules can be operated.
"As a part of this upgrade, the
maximum allowable normal gross
weight was increased from 70
tonnes (155,000lbs) to 74 tonnes
(164,000lbs)," FLTLT Grealy said.
"Taking off from Nadi, we had
an 'all up' weight of 163,300lbs -- to
my understanding this is the heaviest
RAAF C-130J take-off to date."
NICE LOAD: Above and below left, Nadi International Airport staff and
Fijian Army members assist to unload AusAID cargo from a C-17A,
containing aid including tarpaulins, shelters, water containers and
blankets for Fijians affected by Cyclone Evan. Photos: LAC Dan Pinhorn
THANK YOU: From left, CAPT Isimeli
Ivakadrann, of Fijian Army Logistics,
thanks Minister Counsellor -- Pacific for
AusAID John Davidson and 36SQN pilot
FLGOFF Nick Tickner for their assistance
in delivering aid to Fiji.